HALL
Didgeridoo
Learning
To Play
The
Didgeridoo
By James A. Hall
James Hall and Daughter Trisha
This booklet is dedicated
to my daughter Trisha,
who is my joy, my source of wonder
and my most appreciative
audience.
Learning To Play The Didgeridoo
Copyright © 1996 by James A. Hall
Last revision date: 4/07/2011
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be
used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author. For
information about permission to reproduce selections from this book call or write to : Hall
Crystal Flutes, Inc., 17220 Sargent Road SW, Rochester, Washington 98579. Customer Service
(800) 231-2499; Phone: (360) 273-6216; Fax: (360) 273-6217; Email [email protected]
Contents
About the Hall Didgeridoo................................................. 4
Origin of the Didgeridoo................................................... 4
About the Artwork on Your Hall Didgeridoo..................... 5
Holding the Didgeridoo..................................................... 6
Mouth Positions.................................................................. 8
Producing the Basic Drone...............................................10
Changing Harmonics with Vowel Tones.......................... 11
“H” Tones - Use of the Diaphragm..................................13
Use of the Cheek Muscles . ..............................................14
Using Word Tones to Create Rhythms..............................15
Playing the Second Octave................................................16
Circular Breathing - Sustaining the Drone.......................17
Variations on Circular Breathing.......................................19
Using Your Voice with the Drone......................................21
Care and Cleaning ........................................................... 23
Thanks.............................................................................. 23
Notes................................................................................. 24
Other Products................................................................. 25
Didgeridoo Notation ....................................................... 26
Didgeridoo Songs from Around the World
. ................................................................................... 27
About the Hall Didgeridoo
Congratulations on the purchase of your Hall Didgeridoo. In addition to being a beautiful piece of limited edition
art, the Hall Didgeridoo was designed for ease of playing and
superior tone quality.
Hall Digeridoos are made from Pyrex® glass1. This is
the same glass that is used for lasers, chemical apparatus, and
heat resistant kitchen-ware. Many of the advantages of using
Pyrex® glass are obvious. One advantage is that it has very
hard, smooth walls which allow the didgeridoo to produce
a tone while using less air. Softer materials actually absorb
some of the sound produced. With glass, more of the sound
is bounced off of the walls to make a brighter, more ‘alive’
and brilliant tone. Another factor is that the weight of the
instrument is reduced; the Hall Didgeridoo weighs less than
two pounds. The reduced mass improves the tone quality and
decreases the amount of energy needed to play. A third factor
is that the mouth piece can be shaped directly out of the glass
as a integral part of the didgeridoo. The traditional method is
to use bee’s wax shaped to form a lip plate on the didgeridoo.
The main problem with bee’s wax is that the lip plate becomes
unstable in warm weather or during sustained playing periods.
With glass, the mouth hole will always be perfectly shaped, and
the clean, smooth surface provides an excellent seal for playing.
Origin of the Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (sometimes spelled as didjeridu) originated
in Northern Australia and to this day is still hand crafted by
the indigenous Australian people. There are as many names
for the didgeridoo as there are Australian languages, currently
265 not counting English2. One of the most common aboriginal names is “ya-daki”. Traditional aboriginal digeridoos
=4 =
or yadaki are made from
the trunks of eucalyptus
trees that have been hollowed out by termites.
The hollow trees are cut
down and then cut into
various lengths usually
ranging from 4 to 5 feet. The trunk is then debarked and
the mouth hole smoothed. If the mouth hole is uneven or
too large, then bee’s wax is shaped over the end to make the
mouthpiece. Traditional digeridoos are either decorated with
earth pigments or left undecorated.
About the Artwork on Your Hall Didgeridoo
The traditional form of painting for the aboriginal people
is dot painting. The aboriginal style is unmistakable. It consists of a solid color background with solid lines outlining the
main elements of the picture. Then, using the end of a stick,
a decorative layer of colored dots is placed on top of the lines
and throughout the background.
Another common element of aboriginal art is that it is
usually painted from a flat perspective as if looking down on
the subject. This is very similar to a modern topographic Map.
In fact, most aboriginal paintings represent Maps of either
physical locations or of Dreamings, and the symbols used have
definite meaning to the artist.
Early aboriginal paintings were painted with different
colored clays or earth pigments, and colors were limited to
what could be found. With the introduction of acrylic paints,
most aboriginal artists have added more colors to their art but
are still using the traditional method of painting with dots of
color applied with a small stick.
=5 =
The original for the limited edition art work on your Hall
Didgeridoo was painted in the traditional style using sticks and
acrylic paints. Although great care was exercised to follow the
elements and style of aboriginal art, the painting is completely
original, and no aboriginal works were copied. The original art
work was then silk screened using special ceramic inks. Each
print is uniquely numbered and bears the signature of the artist.
The silk screened print is then applied to the didgeridoo and
fired in a kiln at 1,075oF to permanently fuse the decoration
to the glass.
Only 750 prints of the first edition entitled “Water Dreaming” will be printed.
Holding the Didgeridoo
Standing Position
The didgeridoo is held cradled in the palm of the right
hand (or left hand if you are left handed). The hand is held palm
up with the index finger
pointing toward the
base of the didgeridoo. The thumb and
last three fingers wrap
around the didgeridoo
grasping it at mid center
(at the second band of
decoration) so that the
weight of the didgeridoo is perfectly bal- Holding the didgeridoo
anced. This allows the
didgeridoo to be lightly placed to the lips without the weight
of the didgeridoo affecting lip movements. The didgeridoo
should be balanced so that when it is pulled away from the lips,
=6 =
it will stay in its position with only light contact of the finger
tips of the left hand.
The Hall Didgeridoo uses a slightly oval mouth hole to fit
the shape of the lips better. When playing, keep the logo side
of the didgeridoo straight up. This will keep the oval mouth
hole in proper alignment for playing and insure a consistent
blowing surface.
Sitting Position
You may find that it is more comfortable to play the didgeridoo in a sitting position. The didgeridoo is held in the same
manner as it is in the standing position. For the best sound,
you should hold the end of the didgeridoo at least 12” above
the floor or the tone of the didgeridoo will sound muffled,
especially if you are playing in a carpeted room.
Aboriginal Style
The indigenous Australians were hunters and
gatherers and needed to
keep moving to maintain an
adequate food supply. In
the evenings sitting around
the cooking fire, out came
the digeridoos and click
sticks. The ground made
an excellent chair and bare
feet made an ideal support
to keep the sound of the
instrument from muffling
against the ground. I really enjoy playing outside,
and I find this position very
Holding the didgeridoo aboriginal style
=7 =
comfortable. All you need is a didgeridoo and a soft spot of
grass. Just as a point of caution, don’t balance the didgeridoo
on the tip of your shoes as it does not support the didgeridoo
as well as bare feet.
Use of a Resonator When Practicing
As the sound leaves the didgeridoo, it is already four feet
away and is focused away from the player. This is great if playing for an audience. The sound the audience will hear is much
richer than the sound that makes its way back to the player.
One way to get more feedback from your instrument is
to point the end of the didgeridoo towards a wall a few feet
away. The reflected sound will give a better tonal picture of
your playing.
Another way to increase the feedback is to place the end
of the didgeridoo in a plastic bucket. The sound will be amplified and will be reflected back to
the player. This is very useful when
you are learning to blend your voice
with the sound of the didgeridoo. A
variation of this is to lay the bucket on
its side with the open end facing you
about a foot away from the end of the
didgeridoo.
Mouth Positions
Using a bucket as a resonator
There are two mouth positions you
can use with the didgeridoo. Each has
its own advantages. I suggest that you try each position and
find the one that works best for you.
Center Blown Method
With the center blown position, the lips are centered in
=8 =
the middle of the mouth
hole. This is a little easier
for beginning didgeridoo
players. The advantage of
this position is that you have
more room for lip movement to shape the tone of
the didgeridoo.
Side Blown Method
With the side blown
position, the mouth hole is
placed off center. About
two-thirds of the lips are used
starting from one edge and
extending past the center area
of the lips. The advantage
of the side blown position
is that you have the center
area of the lips for shaping
the sound and the side of the
lips to help sustain the drone
of the didgeridoo. With this
method, it takes a little more
mouth movement to vary the
tone of the didgeridoo, but
the tone will be richer with a
wider spread of harmonics.
Center Blown Position
Side Blown Position
Generally, the side blown method is preferred by most
didgeridoo players although there are also excellent didgeridoo
players that use the center blown method.
=9 =
Producing the Basic Drone
To produce the basic
drone, first place the lips
centered in the middle
of the mouth hole. Only
light pressure against the
lips is needed to make a
Duuu...
complete air seal. By using
Map
1
:
Sound
Map of the basic drone
light, gentle pressure, it will
be easier to produce a tone,
and it will give you more freedom of lip movement. It will
also allow more blood flow to the lips and be more comfortable to play.
To make the basic drone, blow into the didgeridoo
through lightly closed lips. The sound that you are trying to
make is very low pitched as if you are making a motorboat
sound. If the tone is more like a trumpet, then you need to
blow softer and hold the lips looser allowing them to extend
slightly into the mouth hole of the didgeridoo.
How you shape your lips will effect the tone produced.
For this first basic drone, try shaping your mouth as if to say
“Duuu...”, but with out the use of the vocal cords. The leading
“D” gives the didgeridoo a boost of air to help get the tone
started more easily, and the sustained “uuu...” is the actual basic
drone sound.
The didgeridoo produces a tone rich in harmonics. The
sound produced is actually a combination of 42 frequencies
or pitches all playing together simultaneously.3
Throughout this booklet, I have used sound Maps4 as visual representations of the actual sounds produced on the Hall
Didgeridoo. The top band of sound Map 1 shows changes in
=10 =
the volume of the sound. The bottom section of the sound
Map starting from the lowest band shows the fundamental tone
and separate bands for each of the additional harmonic tones.
The basic drone, as seen in the sound Map, stabilizes into
a continuous, steady sound with very little variations. Once
the drone is started, it will take very little air to sustain a soft
drone. Blowing harder will increase the volume of the drone.
Before moving on, I suggest that you try out the practice
points listed at the end of each section. A working knowledge
of each section will be necessary to proceed with the next area
of instruction.
Practice Points for the Basic Drone

Make sure that the tone produced is pitched low like the sound of a
motorboat or fog horn and not like the sound of a trumpet.

Practice blowing harder and softer to vary the volume of the basic
drone.

Experiment with both the center blown and the side blown methods
and see which one works best for you. Notice that each method
imparts a slightly different sound to the drone.

You should be able to produce about 5 seconds of sustained drone
before continuing to the next section.
Changing Harmonics with Vowel Tones
Besides varying the total volume level, the player can also
vary the volume level of the individual harmonic tones produced on the didgeridoo.
If you compare Maps 1 and 2, you can see that varying
the shape of the lips causes some harmonic tones to be emphasized over other harmonic tones. You will hear this as a
higher pitched gliding tone over the top of the basic drone
=11 =
of the didgeridoo.
The harmonic mix
of the didgeridoo is controlled by shaping the
mouth and lips to form
different vowel tones. The
sound produced by vowel
tones closely mimics actual
spoken vowels sounds. It
will take some practice at
first to sustain the basic
drone while altering the
shape of your lip to find
the exact shape that corresponds with each vowel
tone.
Dwee - ooo - eee - ooo...
Map 2 : Changing harmonics of the drone
eee - aaa - ahh - ooo - uuu
Map 3 : Using vowels tones
Thoughout this booklet, the exercises and examples are
shown using the didgeridoo notation referenced on page 26.
Practice Points for Vowel Tones
 Practice each vowel tone until you can produce clear distinct vowel
tone changes:
ee
aa
ah
oo
uu

Try linking different repeating vowel tones together in chains like:
|:
we - oo - we - uu
:|(repeat)
 Try slowly gliding the vowel tones together so that the vowel sounds
blend together and form a continuously changing vowel sound:
|:
wee=oo=wee=oo
:|
“H” Tones - Use of the Diaphragm
Up to this point, the basic drone and how to alter the drone
using vowel tones have been discussed. Now we will learn
how to create breaks in the drone to create rhythm by using
=12 =
the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the large muscle
used to expel air from the
lungs. With the use of the
diaphragm, you can control
the air flow ranging from
a subtle vibrato to strong
hu-hu-hu-hu-he-he-he-heha-ha-ha-ha
bursts of air. This can be
Map 4 : “H” tones
done by adding an “h” sound
in front of the vowel tone as in ; “ He, Hah or Hu ”. A subtle
vibrato would look like this, “he-he-he...”. Breaks in the tone can
be created by adding more space between the tones as in “hee
hee hee” or stronger short bursts as in “He’ He’ He’ ”.
Practice Points for “H” Tones
 Practice the following exercise to develop control of the diaphragm.
Start the rhythm line soft and very close together, and then increase
the intensity and separation with each consecutive pulse.
hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
haa haa haa haa
HEE’
hee Hee’ Hee’ Hee’
 Try combining “H” tones with sustained vowel tones.
hee-hee-huu... hee-hee-huu... ho-ho-ho-ho-hee...
Use of the Cheek Muscles
The cheeks and cheek muscles are important in the
playing of the didgeridoo. They are just as important as the
lungs and diaphragm in controlling the air flow into the didgeridoo. Using the lungs and the diaphragm is a very natural
and, of course, necessary thing to do. The use of the cheeks
and cheek muscles to control air flow takes practice and time
to develop. The cheek muscles will play a significant role in circular breathing explained later in this booklet. Cheek squeezes
add another unique sound to your didgeridoo repertoire and
=13 =
will help you prepare for
circular breathing. The
cheek squeeze is done by
puffing out the cheeks and
forcefully expelling the air
from the mouth. A cheek
squeeze could be written
like:
Du^wit’
du^wit du^wit^wit du^wit du^wit^wit
Map 5 : Cheek squeezes
or
Du^wit^wit’
The cheeks are puffed out during the “du” sound and the
cheek squeeze occurs with the “^w” sound. The “du^wit” tone
produces a quick strong burst of sound and adds accents to
your playing. The cheek squeeze can also be used in a sustained
drone as in:
|:
ga^wee-uu...ga^wee-uu...
:|
In the above rhythm line, the “ga” sound causes the pitch
to drop and then the “^w” is the cheek squeeze, followed by
the sustained vowel tones “ee-uu...”
Practice Points for Cheek Squeezes

For the next few weeks, practice the following exercise a few minutes every day. They will help develop the cheek muscles for circular
breathing.
|: gaa^wee-uuu
gaa^wee-uuu
V
ga^weu^wee-uuu :|
|: Ga^wit’ ga^wit’ :|
Using Word Tones to Create Rhythms
Just about any unvoiced speech sound can be used as
a didgeridoo tone. When you combine consonants such as
“d,t,g,j,l” with vowel tones, the tones are broken up into rhythmic
units called word tones. Many real words make great didgeridoo
=14 =
rhythms. For example:
|: Did-jer-i-du Did-jer-i-du :|
|: Es-ca-la-tor Es-ca-la-tor :|
Most word tones are nonsense words put together to get
the desired rhythm as in:
|: Du-dee-you :|
|: Du-dee-du-deeyou :|
|: du-Lee-you du-Lee-you
Du-dee-du-Deeyou :|
Most complex
de - de - de - de - dee...
rhythms are created by usMap 6: Word tones
ing word tones. The tongue
has the ability to change the tone of the didgeridoo much faster
than pulses of air from the diaphragm alone. Try the following
to see how the tongue changes the sound of the didgeridoo.
|: dak-deo Lar-leo Lar-leo Lar-leo :|
Practice Points for Word Tones
Try combining “H” tones with word tones:

|: hu’ hu’ hu’ hu’ digit digit :|

Open a book and try out different words that you find.
 Try to speak sentences into the didgeridoo. The sounds that come
out of the didgeridoo are quite a bit different from the spoken words
going in. This is a great source for new ideas for word tones.
|: Ra-bits - n - Frogs Ra-bits - n - Frogs
Ra-bits - Jump Frogs - Jump :|
Playing the Second Octave
So far, all of the tones have been based on the fundamental
tone of the didgeridoo. By blowing much harder, a note an
octave higher can be produced on the didgeridoo. The tone
=15 =
is similar to a trumpet sound. You may have found this tone
when you were learning the basic drone on your didgeridoo. If
you look at Map 7, you can see that the “<Tee>” sound plays
on the second harmonic line and there is an expanded range
in the upper harmonics. To play the “<Tee>” tone, the tongue
closes against the upper pallet of the mouth allowing the air to
build up and then releases to create a short, loud trumpet like
sound. The most important element for success is to press the
tongue very firmly against the upper pallet before releasing it.
It might help to think of the “<” symbol as representing this
action. The “<Tee>” tone is usually found in pairs in aboriginal
didgeridoo playing.
Practice Points for
“<Tee>” Tones

Have patience with this
one as it may take some
time to get the control to
change quickly back and
<Tee> <Tee> JEP’
forth between the octaves.
Map 7: Playing
Try the following exercises
a few times every time you
practice, and with time it will come.
|:
<Tee>
<Tee> <Tee> JEP’
the second octave
:| (single tone)
|: <Tee> <Tee> :| (double tone second octave)
|:
<Tee> <Tee> Gaa :|(2x) |: <Tee> Gaa :|(2x)
(Play the first section two times, then the second section two times)
Circular Breathing - Sustaining the Drone
Circular breathing is one of the primal elements used in
playing the didgeridoo and one of the most difficult to master. Simply stated, circular breathing is puffing out the cheeks
and using the air trapped in the mouth to continue playing the
=16 =
didgeridoo while you take your next breath.
In the above chart, the individual elements that make up
circular breathing are plotted on a time-line. The following is
a description of what happens at each point on the time-line.
Puff out
cheeks
Quick breath in
through nose
Back of
mouth
closes
Back of
mouth
opens
v (sniff)
Circular
Breathing
v (sniff)
|: -Ga------aah-----ng-----------Ga------aah------ng------------:|
(continuous)
Diaphragm
in control
Cheek
muscles
in control
Cheek
Diaphragm muscles
in control in control
(A) - Puff out Cheeks - Drop Jaw
A basic drone is produced using an “ah” vowel tone. The
cheeks are fully inflated and the jaw is dropped to allow for
more air storage in the oral cavity. The length of the basic
drone varies from 1 to 4 seconds depending on lung capacity
and desired speed of rhythm produced.
(B) - Back of Mouth Closes
This is the point when the basic drone varies. If you sing an
“ah” sound, you will notice that the air flows out of the mouth,
and if you sing a “ng” sound, the air flows out of the nose. It
is this unvoiced “ng” sound that closes off the back of the oral
=17 =
cavity to hold the reserved air used to play the didgeridoo while
a quick breath is taken. At this point the elasticity of the cheeks
continues to supply air to the drone.
(C) - Quick Breath in Through the Nose
A quick, powerful sniff of air is taken in through the
nose while the drone is sustained by the elasticity of the
cheeks. There is not enough time to take a complete breath
and still sustain the drone. So the breathing cycle is kept
short to allow many small breaths to keep the lungs topped
off. Please note that it is also possible to exhale through
the nose and still maintain the drone. A better oxygen supply will be maintained by an occasional partial purge of the
lungs to allow for more air intake on the next cycle. As in:
v (sniff)
v (sniff)
v (sniff)
^(exhale)
v (sniff)
Gah-nnng--Gaaah-nnng--Gaaah-nnng--Gaaah-nnng--Gaaah-nnng
(D) - Cheeks Deflate - Jaw Closes - Squeeze Cheeks
While the breath is entering through the nose and filling
the lungs, the air in the oral cavity is decreasing. To maintain
adequate pressure to sustain the drone the jaw closes to squeeze
the air in the oral cavity. After the jaw has closed completely
the muscles of the cheeks takeover and squeeze out the air
retained between the cheeks and teeth and finally the tongue
moves up and forward to expel the air remaining in the mouth.
This may sound very complicated, but you already intuitively know how to do this. If you were to fill your mouth with
water and spit it out in a stream until all of the water was out of
the mouth, you would be following the process described above.
(E) - Back of the Mouth Opens
At this point the intake of breath is completed and the
“Ga” sound opens the back of the oral cavity to let the air flow
resume from the lungs.
=18 =
Variations on Circular Breathing
There are several variations to accomplish circular breathing. There are no right or wrong ways, for each variation produces its own unique sound. Different variations allow breath
to be taken during different places in the rhythm. In actual use,
you will combine these variations and vary them to change the
sound of the drone.
Variation (1): Using Cheek Elasticity
In this variation, the circular breathing is produced by
using only the elasticity of the cheeks to sustain the drone.
This is usually the easiest for beginning didgeridoo players.
The cycle time is very short, usually only 1 to 2 seconds. The
breaths are very quick and are completed before the elasticity of
the cheeks has lost the ability to move the air from the mouth.
The advantage of this variation is that conscious effort is not
needed to expel air from the lips. The disadvantage is that the
cycle time is too short to allow adequate purging of the lungs
and the sound of the drone lacks the variations found in the
cheek squeeze method. This variation allows you to take a
breath while you are playing sustained “ah” tones.
Cheek elasticity circular breathing:
v
v
v
v
|: ga-ah-ng-ga-ah-ng-ga-ah-ng-ga-ah-ng- :|
Variation (2): Using Cheek Squeezes
In this variation, the muscles of the cheeks are used to
control the exit of the air from the oral cavity. This gives more
time for breath intake and makes for a more interesting drone.
This variation allows you to take a breath while you are playing
cheek squeezes or “wee” tones.
Cheek squeezed circular breathing:
v
v
v
|: gaah-n^we---gaah-n^we---gaah-n^we--- :|
=19 =
Variation (3): Using Jaw Drops
In this variation, the expulsion of the air from the oral
cavity is done exclusively by the jaw muscles. When using this
method, it feels as though you are chewing the air. The variation
produces a two pitched drone as the pitch of the didgeridoo
drops when the jaw is lowered. This variation works well when
you are playing continuous “H’” tones.
Jaw drop circular breathing:
v
v
v
|: Yaah-ng---Yaah-ng---Yaah-ng---Yaah-ng---:|
^(drop)
^(drop)
^(drop)
^(drop)
Practice Points for Circular Breathing
 A good way to practice circular breathing is to get a plastic
straw, a glass about 1/4 full of water and a paper clip.
Slide the paper clip over the middle of the straw to create
some back pressure on the straw. Place the straw in the
water and use your circular breathing to blow air into the
straw. With practice you will be able to keep a constant
stream of bubbles going.
 Once you master circular breathing, you can create sustained
rhythms of indefinite length. You can also loop together the
tones that you have already learned to create circular rhythms.
|:
|:
V
gaa^wee-yo’ ho’^wee-ng :| (continuous)
V
du^we=oo--du^we=oo--du^weung :| (continuous)
Using Your Voice with the Drone
One of the most unique features of the didgeridoo is that
voice is often used in conjunction with the drone. The voice
may sing, speak, yip, bark or growl.
=20 =
It is as simple as it sounds to use the voice with the didgeridoo. Sing or speak different pitches and words into the
didgeridoo while you sustain the drone and link them together
with your rhythms. It may help to listen to other didgeridoo
players. Live is best, but Didgeridoo CD’s can also be a great
source for new ideas.
There are no hard set rules for using your voice, so any
bark, chirp or growl you can come up with will do. Here are
a few points to give you some ideas. This list is by no means
complete, for the possibilities are endless.
Practice Points for Voiced Tones

Sing a pitch the same
note as the didgeridoo
and slide the note up
and down very slightly.
You will hear a cross
beat forming in the
drone. Also try singing a
fifth and an octave above
the drone.
The effect of voice added to the drone
Map 8: Voiced tones
 Rolled “R” tones make great voiced sounds. Sing a pitch
that slides up and down while using a rolled “R” sound as
in :
B-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-reeP

or
B-r-r-r-r-r-r^wit
The Kookaburra calls can be made by voicing “Ku”
sounds as in:
ku’ ku’ ku’ ca’ ku’ CA’ CA’ CA’
=21 =

Take a piece of paper and write down the sounds that you
discover when you are practicing and keep it with you when you
are playing. It will help you add variety to your rhythms. Here
are a few ideas for some voiced tones.
Awu - Awu- Awuuuuuu
guAkwa-guAkwa
Ga-Wau-Ga-Wau Ow!
Lu - Lu - Lu - Lu - Luuuu
U-we’ U-we’
hu hu hu hu HU!
Ya Ya YaaSa
Woof -
woof -
woof
Her-r-r-r - Her-r-r-r
=22 =
Care and Cleaning
Your Hall Didgeridoo is made from Pyrex® glass. It has
been kiln-annealed to remove all heat stresses and to permanently fuse the decoration to the glass. While the utmost care
and the best quality glass have been used in manufacturing
your didgeridoo, it is still fragile and needs to be handled with
care. When not being used, the didgeridoo should be stored in
its protective case. When playing your didgeridoo, never rest
the end on any hard surface. A computer mouse pad makes a
great didgeridoo rest. It is padded and waterproof and can be
purchased at most office supply stores for about five dollars.
The decoration is kiln-fired and is completely washable.
You can use glass cleaner or a solution of dish washing detergent to clean the surface. I have found that the easiest way to
clean the inside of the didgeridoo is to spray some glass cleaner
inside it, and then turn on the shower and place the wide end
of the didgeridoo over the shower head for about 10 seconds.
It’s Pyrex® so you can use warm water. Towel dry the outside
and use a Hall Didgeridoo Cleaning swab to dry out the inside.
When playing, the moisture from the lungs condenses on
the inside surface of the glass. While the moisture will not harm
your didgeridoo, occasional swabbing will improve the tone. A
special Hall Didgeridoo cleaning swab is available.
Thanks
I would like to thank the members of the “Didgeridoo List,”
a forum maintained by Toyoji Tomita, and “Dreamtime The Didgeridoo W3 Server,” a web site dedicated to information related
to the didgeridoo maintained by Sean Borman for their vast
help during the design phase of the Hall Didgeridoo, for their
responses to the glass didgeridoo survey, and for their help in
=23 =
beta testing the product. They have allowed me access to the
opinions of many accomplished didgeridoo players and helped
me find just the right sized mouth hole that would be preferred
by most didgeridoo players.
Notes
1. Pyrex® is a registered trademark of Corning Inc.
2. There are 266 different languages for Australia are currently
listed in the book, “Ethnologue: Languages of the world.” Twelfth
edition, Barbara F. Grimes, ed. 1992.
3. The 42 frequencies were measured by the author from high
resolution spectrograms from digital sound samples of a
Hall Crysatl Didgeridoo. The actual number of harmonics
produced in some samples was greater, but a minimum of
42 recordable bands were found consistent throughout the
sound samples.
4. The sound Maps or spectrograms used in this program were
generated from Spectrogram Version 3 ©1995 by R. S. Horne.
Spectrogram 3 plots the content of a digital audio signal as a
function of frequency versus time with harmonic intensity
represented by a variable color scale. Spectrograms reveal the
fascinating hidden frequency structure of audio signals and
can be used for identifying or classifying particular sounds.
=24 =
Other Products
Hall Crystal Flutes has handcrafted quality glass musical instruments since 1974. The following
are available from your Hall Crystal
Flute dealer.
Hall Crystal Flutes
Hand-crafted Pyrex® glass transverse flutes using a six hole fingering system and Boehm taper
produce a tonal range of two and a
half octaves. They are available in
the following sizes:
“D” Piccolo
“C” Piccolo
“G” Flute
“D” Flute
11” 27.9 cm
12” 30.5 cm
16” 40.6 cm
21.5” 54.6 cm
Recordings
Learning the Crystal Flute
32 minutes (instructional)
Crystal Christmas
40 minutes (music)
Hall Didgeridoo’s on the Web
Hall Crystal Flutes, Inc. maintains a web site for product support,
instructional information, dealer listings and links to information pertaining to the flute and didgeridoo. Our
web address is:
http://www.hallflutes.com
=25 =
Didgeridoo Notation
The following is the notation used by the author. You can use it to record
your ideas for future use or to share with others. The notation consists of a main
phonics line to record the words of the rhythm, an upper line to record breath
marks and voice marks, and an optional base line to record the timing.
Breath Line:
v
0---
5--- 8---
0=8
j
Breath position
Voice same pitch as didgeridoo
Voice 5th above didgeridoo
Voice octave above didgeridoo
Pitch glide octave to octave
Jaw drop
Phonics Line:
|: text :|3x
duu
Duu
JEP
[text]
<Tu>
du - wee
du ~ wee
ha’ ha’
^w
r-r-r
wee = uu
duu...
Repeat “text” 3 times
Lowercase word - unstressed
Uppercase letter - accent letter
Uppercase word - accent word
Enclosed “text” is voiced
Enclosed “Tu” is in the second octave
Continued sound
Continued sound with vibrato
Staccato - short quick pulse
Cheek squeeze as in “ga^wit”
Rolled “R” sound as in B-r-r-r-r
Vowel glide
Sustained tone
Timing Line
Timeing line:
w
whole note
h
half note
q
quarter note
e
eighth note
s
sixteenth note
^
triplet
=26 =
w.
h.
q.
e.
s. q_q
dotted whole
dotted half
dotted quarter
dotted eighth
dotted sixteenth
Tied notes
Didgeridoo Songs from Around the World
Catch the Pigeon Chris Peckham, Cambridge, UK
“Although quite a beginner, I thought I would submit a rhythm line that I came up with recently.
It’s not very difficult, but I like it because even without any “outward” vocalization, you can hear
the sound of the words on the drone if you enunciate them carefully.”
v
|: Catch---the---pij---Jin---Hu^wit:|
q
e
e.
Circular Breathing
e
e
s
Ken Scott, Suttons Bay, MI
“I find it fun and helpful (taking the focus off of ‘trying’ to circular breath) to mouth out words
or small sentences, with deliberate breaks after word or sentence, which turns the exercise into
a rhythmical sound experience . In time and with practice, this type of exercise has led me to
circular breath.”
v
v
Did-geri-doo
v
Did-geri-doo
v
I love you
v
Did-geri-doo
v
I love you
Did- geri-doo
v
v
I love you
Leah Cole
I love you
Mark Piton, Toronto, Canada
“My daughter Leah loves your “Rabbits and Frogs” which I play with a bounce. Her name,
Leah Cole, makes a nice phrase into which I mix doublet and triplets while I tickle her belly
with the end of my didj. From day one when she was new in our house I would play “Leah
Cole” repeatedly to her slowly over and over until she fell asleep. For us the key to this very
simple pattern it to make her name as sharp as possible so Leah knows I’m talking to her, to
make the jaw drop as big as I can, and to use her responses to her name and the the doubles and
triplets (the tickle lines) to make up the tune by mixing (1), (2), and (3).”
j v
j v
j v
|: Le=ah Cole... Le=ah Cole... Le=ah Cole... :| (part 1)
q
q
w
q
q
w
q
q
w
v8-----------------------|: [ Ti-ka Ti-ka Ti-ka ] :|(6x) (part 2)
e e e e e e
v8----------------------------------|: [ Ti-ka-ta Ti-ka-ta Ti-ka-ta ] :|(4x) (part 3)
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
=27 =
Kangaroo dreaming
© 1996 - James Hall
HALL
Didgeridoo
Hall Crystal Flutes, Inc.
17220 Sargent Road SW, Rochester, Washington 98579, USA
Customer Service: 800-231-2499 ; Phone: (360) 273-6216; Fax: (360) 273-6217
Email: [email protected] ; Web Site: hallflutes.com
Learning the Hall Didgeridoo
Booklet #0950